A $2.5 trillion deficit-reduction deal brokered by
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner and
President Barack Obama is grotesquely unfair. It also is bad economic
policy. In the midst of a terrible recession, it will cost hundreds of
thousands of jobs.

At a time when the wealthiest people in this country
are doing extremely well, and when their effective tax rate is the lowest in
decades, the rich won’t contribute one penny more for deficit
reduction. When corporate profits are soaring and many giant corporations
avoid federal income taxes because of obscene loopholes in the tax code,
corporate America will not be asked to contribute one penny more for deficit
reduction. On the other hand, working families, children, the sick and the
elderly – many of whom are already suffering because of the recession – will
shoulder the entire burden.

The corporate media – which, by and large, covered this
debate as if it were a baseball game with political “winners and losers” –
mostly glossed over the real-life implications of $917 billion in cuts over the
next 10 years. Nobody can predict exactly what programs will fall under
the knife or say how much they will be cut. Those decisions will be made over
the coming months and years by the appropriations committees. But here’s what’s
at stake:

* At a time when there are long waiting lists for
affordable child care and Head Start, it is likely that these programs will be
cut significantly.

* At a time when the United States is falling further
and further behind other countries in the quality of our education, it is
likely that tens of thousands of teachers and school personnel will be laid
off.

* At a time when working families are finding it harder
to send their kids to college, it is likely that there will be cuts in federal
student aid programs.

* At a time when hunger among seniors and children is
rising, it is likely that there will be cuts in various nutrition programs.

* At a time when 50 million Americans have no health
insurance and many of them are utilizing community health centers for their
medical needs, it is likely that there will be cuts in primary health care.

* At a time when states, cities and towns already laid
off over 500,000 public service employees, it is likely that there will be even
more police and firefighter layoffs and large reductions in federal support for
roads, bridges, water quality, sewage and public transportation.

That’s just for starters. There likely will be cuts in
home heating assistance, affordable housing, support for family-based
agriculture and research in finding cures for cancer and other diseases. There
likely will be major staffing reductions in agencies charged with protecting
the physical health and economic well-being of our people. It is quite
likely that the EPA, which enforces clean water and clean air rules, will be
cut. The Securities and Exchange Commission, which regulates Wall Street,
will be undermined. It is also very possible that the Social Security
Administration, which assures that seniors and the disabled receive the
benefits to which they are entitled in a timely manner, will also be cut.

That is just the first round of $900 billion in cuts.

In the second phase of the $2.5 trillion package,
sweeping new powers are given to a 12-member evenly divided House and Senate
super committee. The panel’s mandate is to look at every federal government
program and come up with $1.5 trillion more in savings. With Republicans
and an increasing number of Democrats calling for major cuts in Social
Security, Medicare and Medicaid, all of those programs will be in jeopardy.

If the committee is unable to agree, cuts will happen
anyway. A sequestration process would require $500 billion in cuts to defense
spending and $500 billion more in across-the-board cuts to domestic
discretionary spending. In that scenario, Social Security, Medicare
benefits and Medicaid would be spared, but even more draconian cuts would occur
in programs that sustain working families.

There is a great irony in all this. The deficit deal
does exactly the opposite of what the American people wanted. In poll
after poll, the American people said they believe in shared sacrifice. Instead
of putting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education and environmental
protection on the chopping block, overwhelming majorities say the best way to
reduce the deficit is to end tax breaks for the wealthy, big oil and Wall
Street and take a hard look at military spending. What President Obama and
Congress did, however, was to let the wealthy and large corporations contribute
nothing while making major reductions in services for working families and the
most vulnerable people in our country.

Enough is enough! The American people must fight
back. We need a government which represents all the people, not just the
wealthy, campaign contributors and lobbyists. In these tough and discouraging
times, despair is not an option. This fight is not just for us, it is for
our children and grandchildren and for the environmental survival of the
planet.